UCLan acquires The Mercury in Me by Rachael Fernandes

UCLan has acquired The Mercury in Me by Rachael Fernandes.  

Publisher Hazel Holmes bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton. The Mercury in Me will publish in paperback in June 2024. 

Maya Pritik is 17, an aspiring doctor and wants to get through sixth form in one piece, the synopsis says. “This isn’t made easy by school bully Candice Riley, who has a target on Maya’s back and is the owner of the not-so-anonymous Hot-Or-Not Instagram account. Luckily Maya has her best friend, Lucie Perry, and older brother, Tamir, to keep her together. Maya’s passion is music, so when she hears musical theatre heartthrob Harry Wu singing an original song, she has to investigate…” 

Fernandes said: “I am thrilled to be joining UCLan Publishing with The Mercury in Me. Hazel has been passionate about Maya’s story from the start and I can’t wait for the world to meet her. I wrote the rom-com book I would have loved to have read as a teenager: one that shows the trickiness of navigating romance while feeling like you’re between two cultures but having a lot of fun along the way. The timing couldn’t have been better, the Asian diaspora is now getting its rom-com moment, from Crazy Rich Asians being a blockbuster hit to One Day being adapted on Netflix with Ambika Mod as the lead. I hope I can bring this to Young Adult readers with a musical twist.” 

Holmes added: “This was just what I was looking for to add to our growing rom-com YA list. With music, romance and all the lols, this will be the perfect summer read.” 

Fernandes is a British-Indian writer: born, raised and still living in south London. She started her career at Penguin Random House, and has since worked in marketing for major national and international brands.